LIDAR-Lite v2

This is the LIDAR-Lite v2, a compact high performance optical distance measurement sensor from PulsedLight. The LIDAR-Lite “Blue Label” is ideal when used in drone, robot, or unmanned vehicle situations where you need a reliable and powerful proximity sensor but don’t possess a lot of space. All you need to communicate with this sensor is a standard I2C or PWM interface. With everything connected the LIDAR-Lite v2, with its range of up to 40 meters, will be yours to command!

Each LIDAR-Lite v2 features an edge emitting, 905nm (75um, 1 watt, 4 mrad, 14mm optic), single stripe laser transmitter and a surface mount PIN, 3° FOV with 14mm optics receiver. The second version of the LIDAR-Lite still operates at 5V DC with a current consumption rate of <100mA at continuous operation. On top of everything else, the LIDAR-Lite has an acquisition time of only 0.02 seconds or less and can be interfaced via I2C or PWM.

The LIDAR-Lite v2 has received a number of upgrades from the previous version. With the implementation of a new signal processing architecture, LIDAR-Lite v2 can operate at measurement speeds of up to 500 readings per second offering greater resolution for scanning applications. Additionally, the LIDAR-Lite v2 has had its I2C communications improved to operate at 100 kbits/s or 400 kbits/s with you, the user, able to assign your own addressing! Just in case you are wondering: yes, the LIDAR-Lite v2 is compatible with its previous version in all primary functions and their compatibility will extend into the next version and beyond.

Note: With Garmin® recently acquiring PulsedLight® the LIDAR-Lite v2 has been marked EOL. We are currently waiting on word about the next exciting product these two companies create. We will come back with additional information once we obtain it.

Note: The LIDAR Lite is designated as Class 1 during all procedures of operation, however operating the sensor without its optics or housing or making modifications to the housing can result in direct exposure to laser radiation and the risk of permanent eye damage. Direct eye contact should be avoided and under no circumstances should you ever stare straight into the emitter.

LIDAR-Lite v2 Product Help and Resources

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With Garmin® recently acquiring PulsedLight® the LIDAR-Lite v2 has been marked EOL. We are currently waiting on word about the next exciting product these two companies create. We will come back with additional information once we obtain it.

There was someone that had some questions that I was not able to fully answer because it was not in the datasheet/user manual. Check below if you are wondering about minimum temperature, weather resistance, or enclosure material for the laser to pass through:

“We haven’t established a minimum temperature through testing. Anecdotally, several of our customers have successfully used our sensors in temperatures well below the freezing mark.

Our sensors are not weatherized so [it] will need protection from the elements if placed outside. Water, dust and dirt would quickly disable our sensors in the absence of a protective housing.

Our sensor will still work if mounted within a protective housing. There are a few things to consider though:

1) The window material should be transparent to 905nm wavelengths
2) The window should be flat, not curved, and the lens barrels of our sensor should be mounted flush against the window to prevent reflections that would cause false signals
3) There will be some loss of signal as the beam passes through the window which will result in some loss of range.

-Pulsed Light"

For more information about using the sensor through liquids or particulate in a medium, check the Lidar Lite documentation: http://lidarlite.com/docs/v2/special_topics/#reflectivity. I haven’t tested this with dust or particles in the air. Theoretically based on the manufacturer’s datasheet, if the particles are reflective, the sensor might pick up the signal reflected back. It would probably have to be a pretty dense, reflective cloud. It might work if you placed it into an enclosure but you would need to test it out to be sure since this is dependent on the material and your environment.

Testing this with a clear, non-colored, flat acrylic piece on our speed trap project that used the Lidar v1 (up to around 1 inch away), the sensor was able to see through the acrylic and detect the movement of an object.

we have bought (not with sparkfun) 40 of those sensors for a project that uses 2 sensor per arduino pro mini.
we have nothing but problems with this sensor and it seems we are not the only ones.
after 5 min the arduinos i2c port seems to crash.

see all the troubles documented here: https://github.com/PulsedLight3D/LIDARLite_v2_Arduino_Library/issues/4
even the teensy forum seems very unhappy with this sensor:
https://forum.pjrc.com/threads/28036-Translating-Lidar-Lite-I2C-example-to-Teensy?p=70142&viewfull=1#post70142

did anyone have a success story using 2 of these sensors at the same time?

good cheap speed and distance sensor

easy plug and play thank to library and github.
However, power comsumption is around 120mA. Thus, I recommend to power the module separately from a 5V external supply (7805 regulator for example) : Indeed; if you use a Arduino board (even with the 680uF capacitor on 5V pin), you may have some trouble as the arduino 5V pin is not able to deliver more than 100mA.
Once done, The lidar works perfectly.
Philippe

Basically plug-and-play

Albeit a smoothing capacitor, it’s just 2 wires for I2C and 2 more for power. I immediately hooked it up to a Mega, #included <Wire.h>, and received amazeballz resolution and accuracy. Hooked up a buzzer and made a super accurate theramin, I also left it pointing at the road overnight to count cars and it never failed or got hot.
Definitely a great module for any accurate or quick ranging requirements.

FYI: In Pulsed-Light diagrams they use an electrolytic capacitor between 5v-Gnd, this is a decoupling or bypass capacitor that’s meant to smooth-out the power coming into the LIDAR module. It is not required, but it is recommended since it stabilizes operation and readings by offering a consistent voltage for the device to work off of.

6 of 8 found this helpful:

Good but should come with capacitor

Library is simple, with great instructions, but there’s a ton of noise in this version (even the library says it’s “virtually required” for this version) if you don’t have the capacitor. Sparkfun doesn’t sell the required cap (and doesn’t ship with it), so now i’m off ordering a set from mouser + shipping.

It’s simple to use, but I hope the cap stabilizes the data. I’ll post an update after I find out.

Great device

worked great using both i2c and pwm

I tried it on an Arduino Uno with examples found on Github, worked great. I also worked on getting it working on the Intel Edison where i ended up writing my own code for. I posted the code on Github if anyone else is interested. https://github.com/aafeliz/LIDAR-Lite-v2-edison.git

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